Letter: Those who don't drive are "third class citizens"

Let's face it, people who do not drive are third-class citizens in our society. I thought Buffalo was the only place that it was dangerous to walk, until driving north on Kansas Expressway. I met an old man riding his bicycle up the gutter along the highway and a block later an older woman pulling her grocery cart up the same gutter because of no usable sidewalk. We have allowed streets to be our total focus for so long that we all now face a huge task to provide for those who do not drive.

We would rather bus our children than to provide a safe place for them to walk, compounding our thirst for gasoline. We spend thousands for parking lots, but nothing for sidewalks. Walking and wheelchairs cannot be taxed, but bicycles can. It is time for our citizens and our governing and taxing bodies to recognize the need to provide for those who cannot or choose not to drive, but recognize that they do have the right to a safe place to go from one place to another.